6th family member charged with rape in western Missouri child sex abuse case

6th relative charged in Mo. child sex abuse case

LEXINGTON, Mo. — A man who had called child sex abuse allegations against his brother and four nephews “repulsive” was charged Friday with raping two children, and Missouri authorities said they expected more charges against the family in the case.

Darrel Wayne Mohler, 72, of Silver Springs, Fla., was charged in Lafayette County, Mo., with two counts of forcible rape stemming from 1986, according to court documents. He was in custody Friday night at the Marion County Jail in Ocala, Fla., according to Kim Krause with the jail’s classifications division.

Earlier Friday evening, Lafayette County Sheriff Kerrick Alumbaugh had urged Mohler to turn himself in “so I can talk to him.”

Five other members of the Mohler family were charged earlier this week with several felonies, including forcible sodomy, rape with a child younger than 12 and use of a child in a sexual performance.

When asked to comment on the case Thursday before he was charged, Darrel W. Mohler told The Associated Press from his Florida home that he found the reports of child abuse “unspeakable.”

“I can’t think of words that would put this in perspective. I find it repulsive if it’s true,” he said.

Mohler said he was a disabled veteran suffering from various ailments, including lung disease. He did not return phone calls to his home seeking comment on the charges Friday before his arrest.

The other men charged in the case are Darrel W. Mohler’s brother, Burrell Edward Mohler Sr., 77, of Independence and his four adult sons: Burrell Edward Mohler Jr., 53, of Independence; Jared Leroy Mohler, 48, of Columbia; Roland Neil Mohler, 47, of Bates City; and David A. Mohler, 52, of Lamoni, Iowa.

The probable cause statement against Darrel W. Mohler accuses him of raping two children between the ages of 5 and 9 at an abandoned house in Bates City. The statement alleges that after Mohler left the children, Burrell Mohler Sr. came to the room and warned them to “be careful because waterbeds were known to pop and they might drown in their sleep.”

Darrel W. Mohler said Thursday that he never had been close to his older brother Burrell and was “appalled by the allegations.” He said he has a 16-year-old granddaughter “and that’d be like me messing with her, and the thought is repulsive. I’m glad I don’t have that gene, God darn.”

On Thursday, police also arrested a man they identified as an “associate” of the Mohler family and possible suspect, but did not charge him. He has been released.

The original complaint in the case includes allegations — of bestiality, forcing children into fake marriages with relatives and making an 11-year-old have an abortion — that date from 1988 to 1995. The Associated Press is not revealing details that could identify victims of sexual abuse.

The men have not entered pleas and did not have lawyers listed with the court clerk’s office. The five Mohler men from Missouri have been held on cash bonds ranging from $30,000 to $75,000. Their next court hearing is Tuesday.

Alumbaugh also said Friday that a search on a 55-acre property formerly owned by family members was completed and that he expected additional charges against the suspects.

Alumbaugh had said earlier that investigators were focusing on the property outside Bates City, about 30 miles east of Kansas City, because there was “an indication that there are body or bodies in numerous locations.” He did not elaborate.

Investigators also said they were searching for glass jars buried on the property and containing notes, written by children, about the alleged abuse. Adults allegedly told children to write down bad memories and bury them there and “the memories would go away,” said Sgt. Collin Stosberg, spokesman for the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

Neither Alumbaugh nor Stosberg would not comment about any evidence that may have been found in the search.